Road Trip Wedding
by Ever-the-Optimist
Summary: Naruto had a plan.  He was planning on locking himself in his room, avoiding his ex at all costs, and then stand by his best friend at his wedding and smiling.  Too bad the Bride has other plans.
1. Chapter 1: Saturday

**So, this is loosely, loosely based on an actual event. I had originally meant to write it down in all purity to the actual events. But, then I got carried away. A lot. And so now it doesn't resemble what actually happened beyond the fact that there was a wedding that resulted in a road trip. I have no excuse. Oops. **

* * *

**Chapter One: Saturday**

_Present…_

If anyone ever asked for Naruto's opinion, he would admit to them being a less than ideal couple. He had no idea how he didn't drive her nuts. He couldn't imagine them spending the rest of their lives together. And, while he was being honest, he wasn't entirely sure they were getting married for the right reasons. Granted, they had had ten years to rethink their decision. But, he supposed that tragedy tended to bond two individuals together. And Kiba and Sakura had both seen their fair share of tragedy.

Ten years ago, they had been juniors in high school. They had been naive, innocent in their thinking that they could conquer the world. Whenever Naruto thought of _that_ night, he always had a strong desire to find the tallest building he could and swan dive off of it. The details were a bit hazy, alcohol tended to do that, but he remembered the highlights.

He remembered Sakura getting wasted and leading an equally drunk Kiba out of the room and down the hall. He also remembered walking in on his then boyfriend of almost three years only to see him cheating on him, but that was a different story all together. After that night, Naruto lost the love of his life, and Sakura ended up pregnant.

Her parents had been furious. They had demanded that Kiba make an honorable woman of their daughter. Kiba's parents hadn't been so much disappointed as resigned. Both sets of parents had signed for their children to marry. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on who you asked, Sakura had miscarried, and the wedding had then been cancelled. She was so young. But, to Naruto's surprise, both Sakura and Kiba had been devastated over the loss of their child. In the following weeks, months, years they had found comfort from each other.

Ten years later, Sakura was an OB/GYN, Kiba was a vet, and they were getting married. Naruto still doubted they were together because they loved each other, but when he had asked them if they were positive that they wanted to get married, they had shrugged and asked "Why not?" Regardless of how he felt, he was still driving all the way to South Carolina to be Kiba's best man.

Close friends and family were all staying together in the Bed and Breakfast lodge that had been rented out for the wedding. Sakura, ever the control freak, had demanded that the wedding party be there on Saturday, a week before the wedding. The only person that had gotten out of it had been the Maid of Honor, who couldn't get off from work, lucky girl. Naruto didn't know what he was going to do for a week. Sakura had sent out pamphlets on things that were tourist traps, but none of that sounded good. To make things worse, his ex-boyfriend was another of the Groom's men, so was going to be there as well.

But, Naruto had a plan. It was a good plan, a simple plan. He was planning on locking himself in his room, avoid his ex at all costs, and then stand by Kiba's side and smile. It was with that little pep talk, and a couple of deep breaths, that Naruto was finally able to get out of the car and into the scalding heat.

He opened and closed his jaw a couple of times, trying to get his ears to pop. The scene was beautiful, but he wasn't sold on the mountainside, outdoor wedding. But Sakura always did have a flair for the dramatic.

"Naruto!" Sakura squealed. She threw herself into Naruto's arms, and Naruto vaguely acknowledged his ears finally popping. Naruto smiled and obligingly caught her up and spun her around.

"Hey, Sakura! How's the Bride?" He didn't know what reaction he expected, but it wasn't the one he got. Sakura's face fell and she started to cry. "Sakura? What's…"

"Oh, ignore that. It'll pass in a couple minutes." Naruto turned from attempting to comfort Sakura to face Kiba. "I think it's the stress. How're you doing, man?" Kiba reached out to shake his hand. Slightly bewildered, Naruto reached back and shook his hand.

"I'm fine." Sakura was tugging at his arm, and when he turned back to face her, Sakura was beaming a bright smile at him.

"How was the drive down?" Naruto scrunched his face in confusion.

"Fine. Long." Sakura nodded in understanding, then took his elbow to lead him to the building.

"Well, you'll have to play Maid of Honor until she gets here, all right? We better get started; we've got lots to do."

Naruto resisted slightly, looking back at his car. "But, my stuff…"

"Will still be here when you get back. I need your help in figuring out seating arrangements, I'm not sure the caterer knows what he's doing, no one knows how to fold the napkins into little swans, and so you'll need to figure that out. Oh, and I want your honest opinion on my dress. It came with a sash, but I'm thinking about taking it off."

Kiba laughed and waved Naruto's desperate look for help off. "Good luck dude. May the force be with you."

Naruto sighed. It was going to be a long week.

* * *

He wasn't hiding. Sakura was trying on her dress and had shoved him out of her room. Naruto had meant to go unload his car while he was waiting, but he had lost his energy half way there and ended up collapsing on the outside steps. Several of his old high school friends had come while he was sitting there, and Naruto had enjoyed seeing them and catching up. Most everyone had already come and moved their things into the Bed and Breakfast, and so it was much quieter now. It was dusk now, and the stars were starting to appear in the sky. Naruto was amazed at how many stars he could see from here. Back home, the pollution and city lights blocked out most of the stars. It was peaceful here; Naruto could almost see himself moving here.

The silence was shattered by the low, rumbling growl of an old car pulling into the gravel parking lot. Naruto winced. He would recognize that sound from anywhere. At one time, that sound had been a source of comfort. It meant that _he_ was coming. Ten years ago, it would have meant that Naruto had been beaten by his foster father and his boyfriend was answering his late night panicked phone call. Now, Naruto wasn't sure what he felt about it. Vaguely, Naruto could feel the excitement at the thought of seeing him again, but he stubbornly pushed that thought to the back of his mind. Then came the physical pain in his chest when he remembered why they weren't together any longer. Following that came the anger, humiliation, and depression that had become so familiar over the years. Apparently, ten yeas wasn't enough time to heal that wound.

He recognized the old beat up car that came to a stop only a few yards away. He wondered, briefly, if he should just get up and leave. But, he was stubborn, and he was here first. He wasn't about to be chased away from an otherwise relaxing evening by some ex. But, that didn't mean that it had to look like he had been waiting for him. Naruto returned his gaze to the sky and tried desperately to ignore everything else.

The engine finally grumbled into silence, followed by a car door opening and slamming shut. Naruto refused to give into temptation and turn to check if the occupant was who he thought it was. He knew who it was. He also didn't look when he heard a soft sigh, and then the crunching of gravel coming closer to where he was sitting.

"Naruto." Oh God, that voice. He hadn't heard it since graduation, and he had forgotten the effect that that voice had on him. He ignored the shivers on his spine and found the Big Dipper.

"Naruto." Let's see. If he traced the tip of the Big Dipper over, the North Star should be…

"Idiot." Naruto finally rolled his head to look at the ex love of his life.

"I'm not an idiot, bastard." A smirk was his answer.

"Hm. But it got your attention, didn't it?" Naruto huffed and got up to leave. The hand grasping his wrist stopped him, and Naruto threw a nasty glare at the man.

"What?" Secure in the knowledge he had Naruto's attention, he let go of his wrist.

"It's good to see you, Naruto." Naruto huffed and crossed his arms defensively across his chest. He looked away from the expecting eyes in front of him to look at the man's car.

"You know in high school…"

"Yes," the man interrupted. "I remember. Vividly." Naruto wrinkled his nose at the suggestion in his voice, but ignored it. For now.

"…and you said that you wouldn't buy a new car because you'd have to ask your dad for money and you didn't want to owe him?" He looked back at his car, before turning back to face Naruto.

"Yes."

"So, what's your excuse for keeping your piece of crap car now?"

The man leaned forward into Naruto's space. "Sentimental value. Some of the best moments of my life were in that car."

Naruto flushed at the comment, and just barely restrained himself from hitting the man. "I don't have time for you right now." He turned to leave, but that voice stopped him, even more effectively than his hand had.

"Naruto, I missed you." Naruto swallowed hard and kept his back to the man so he wouldn't be able to see the effect he had had on him.

"Sasuke…"

* * *

_Ten Years Ago…_

It had been a record heat that summer, not to be beaten for another ten years. The school year was due to end in a couple of weeks, and summer vacation couldn't come soon enough. Summer meant freedom. It meant that Naruto wouldn't have to go to school. It meant long hours in his boyfriend's pool. And, even better, it meant moving out of his foster home, if only temporarily, in the excuse he was going to a summer camp. That was a lie, but his foster parents didn't need to know that. In all actuality, it meant moving in with his boyfriend and his family for the summer.

But that was still a couple of weeks away. Naruto rested his chin on his knees and sighed. He could still hear his foster mother crying, but he knew that it wouldn't last much longer. She'd leave soon, like she always did, for the weekend at her sister's. Naruto sighed again and toyed with the frayed edges of his over-night bag. Any minute now…

There was a rumbling growl from down the street. Naruto could feel it in his chest, and the sound caused him to grin. As an old, '91 Nissan pulled in front of his house, he got up to meet the driver. Sasuke got out and walked around the car to meet Naruto half way. He had a dark frown on his face.

"Sasuke!" Naruto knew the scowl wasn't for him, so he didn't hesitate to reach out and wrap his arms around Sasuke. Sasuke briefly returned the embrace before he pushed Naruto gently back.

"Naruto. You have a black eye." Naruto reached up and winced as he touched said bruise. Sasuke grabbed his hand back and squeezed it gently. "Idiot," he reprimanded.

"It's fine," Naruto mumbled. Sasuke sighed.

"You always say that." The frustration was clear in his face and voice. Sasuke briefly flicked his eyes to Naruto's front door where, on schedule, Naruto's foster mother was slamming the door shut. "Where is he?" Naruto shrugged and watched as she wrestled a suitcase into the back of her car.

"Where he always goes." Sasuke nodded and needed no further explanation. They had been through this before, even before they were together. When they were younger, and before Sasuke had his driver's license, Sasuke used to pester his older brother into coming and picking Naruto up from one of his "encounters" with his foster father. After the beatings, the foster father would leave to get drunk. Naruto had learned from experience that it was probably better for him to not be there when he got back.

Sasuke wrapped his arms around his waist as the foster mother peeled out of the driveway and, without a glance back at her ward, drove down the street. Sasuke raked a hand through his hair in irritation before dropping it back down to rest and Naruto's hip. "You'll stay the night with me?" Naruto nodded.

"It's not a school night, so I can stay the weekend." Sasuke raised an eyebrow, and Naruto chuckled. School night or not, Naruto usually stayed several nights at Sasuke's. He went on before Sasuke could call him an idiot. "And tomorrow, we can go to Sakura's party together!" Sasuke's amused expression fell into a scowl, and he brushed a finger across the bruise around Naruto's eye.

"Are you sure that you still want to go?" He leaned forward to whisper low in Naruto's ear. "We can just stay in tomorrow night; have a party of our own." Naruto grinned at the suggestion, then tilted his head to kiss the underside of Sasuke's jaw.

"You're just trying to get out of being sociable." Sasuke huffed.

"No, I just want to spend time with you. Alone." Naruto grinned up at him.

"We'll have tonight. And the day after the party."

"Will we?" Naruto hummed a conformation and kissed the corner of Sasuke's mouth.

"Take me away from here?" Sasuke grinned at him and swung his bag over his shoulder.

"Of course. I am your knight in shinning armor, after all." Naruto stuck his tongue out at him and opened the car door.

"Jack ass." Sasuke seemed unfazed by the insult, and slammed the trunk closed. Naruto was fastening his seatbelt when Sasuke settled in the driver's seat and turned the key in the ignition. The car roared to life and growled in protest. Naruto grinned and bounced in his seat. God, he loved this car! Sasuke let the growl dissolve into a purr before switching to 'Drive', but when he didn't immediately pull away, Naruto turned to face him. Sasuke was analyzing him, searching his face.

"What, Sasuke?" Sasuke shook himself out of his daze and reached out to run his finger under Naruto's eye.

"You're eighteen soon, yeah?" Naruto nodded.

"Yup. Next semester." Sasuke hummed before he leaned across the car to kiss Naruto's still growing bruise.

"My Birthday present to you will be to move you out of this house and into mine. I'll steal you away and never give you back. I promise."

"But, what about your parents?"

Sasuke shrugged and grinned at them. "You're already there enough; I don't think they'll mind. Besides, if they knew…" Naruto shook his head frantically.

"No, you can't tell!" Sasuke sighed and took Naruto's hand in his.

"My father's the chief of police, Naruto. He can help you." Naruto continued to shake his head.

"No. They'll take me away. And I can't leave you." Sasuke ran a thumb over his knuckles.

"When you're eighteen, then. Will you let my father know when you're eighteen? They can't put you anyplace else then, and he has to be punished for what he's doing." Naruto considered the option before he slowly nodded.

"Ok." Sasuke grinned at him before bringing his wrist to his mouth and placing a light kiss on the pulse point.

"Good. Let's go then. Mother's fixing Sloppy Joes tonight." Naruto winced and stuck out his tongue.

"Want to grab something on the way home?" Sasuke chuckled and shook his head.

"Love you, Naruto." Naruto's smile spread all the way across his face.

"Love you too, Sasuke. Always."

* * *

_Present…_

Sasuke climbed the three steps to the porch and walked around Naruto so he could face him. Stubbornly, Naruto kept his face down. Sasuke tilted his head to look at Naruto's expression.

"Naruto," he repeated, "I missed you."


	2. Chapter 2: Sunday

**Thank you for the wonderful feedback. School starts soon, so updates may be a bit slower, but it will get done, promise. Hope you like this chapter! Let me know what you think!**

* * *

**Chapter Two: Sunday**

_Present…_

Anything else they could have said was interrupted by the porch door slamming open.

"Naruto! You have to tell me…" Sakura, standing in her wedding dress, cut herself off and froze at the sight of Sasuke. Sasuke, for his part, scoffed and leaned against the railing. He pulled a cigarette pack out of his pocket and lit one up. Naruto wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Sasuke! What are you doing here?"

Sasuke took a slow drag of his cigarette before he answered. "Apparently, I'm one of the Groom's Men." A look of shock crossed her face.

"You are?" Sakura questioned. Naruto turned to face her, his brow wrinkled in confusion.

"You didn't know?" Sakura shook her head.

"No. Kiba didn't tell me." She trailed off at the end of her sentence, as if she was thinking. Sasuke took another drag of his cigarette. Naruto turned to face him.

"I thought you quit," Naruto accused. Sasuke sneered at him. It took Naruto aback. Sasuke had never sneered at him.

"Apparently not." Any reply Naruto had for Sasuke's was cut off by the porch door slamming open again. It was Kiba's turn to come out. His entrance was met by Sakura shrieking.

"Kiba, you've ruined everything!" Kiba had the decency to look confused. Sakura motioned to her dress. "It's bad luck for the Groom to see the Bride in the wedding dress before the wedding." Belatedly, Kiba covered his eyes with his hand. Sakura threw her hands up in the air and pushed past Kiba and stormed back into the lodge. "We can't get married now!"

Kiba shot Naruto a pleading look. Naruto sighed and followed Sakura back inside. He knew for sure that this was not what he signed up for. Naruto found her in her room, still in her wedding dress, and packing her bags. "Sakura, what are you doing?" When she didn't answer, Naruto tried again. "You and Kiba can still get married. Lots of people do wedding pictures before the ceremony now a days anyway. And are still happily married." Still no reply. Naruto sucked in a breath, counted to ten, and exhaled. "Are you sure there's nothing else bothering you? Besides Kiba seeing your dress. You've seemed distracted all day." He was slipping back into his professional psychiatrist tone of voice, but it seemed ineffective against Sakura's ranting.

"We have to leave." She dropped her bags in the hallway and walked across the hall to Kiba's room.

Naruto sighed. "Ok. And where are you going?" Sakura didn't answer him, but she was mumbling to herself. Naruto sighed and let her work through it before asking her again. "Sakura, what are you doing?" She huffed.

"We're going to have to leave here. Go get married someplace else." She motioned to the bags, and Naruto obligingly picked them up and followed her back through the lodge.

"Where?" They were back on the porch, where Kiba and Sasuke were glaring at each other. Sakura walked up to Sasuke and pulled on his sleeve. Sasuke yanked his arm out of her grip and glared. Sakura just glared back.

"You just got here, right?" Sasuke nodded and crushed his spent cigarette underneath his shoe. "Can you drive us?"

"Who am I driving where?" Sakura laughed a little hysterically.

"All of us. We're going to Vegas."

* * *

_Ten Years Ago…_

At the next red light, Sasuke cracked the window and lit up a cigarette. Naruto wrinkled his nose. "Is that your first?" Sasuke nodded.

"First and only. I'm down to one a day. I figured finding my boyfriend beaten on the front step deserved one." Naruto grinned at him and leaned across the seat to kiss his cheek.

"I'm proud of you." Sasuke batted him away, but he had a grin on his face.

"Yea, yea. Sit back and let me drive." Naruto laughed.

"Just think- you'll feel so much better once you've finally quit. You'll be able to breathe better, and you'll have more endurance, and your organs will be much happier." Sasuke leered at him.

"Oh, is that why you wanted me to quit?" Naruto slapped his arm and blushed.

"Jerk. See if I care about your health again." Sasuke chuckled and pulled his car into his driveway. They sat there for some time, waiting for Sasuke to finish his cancer stick. "Do you think your parents will notice?"

"Notice?" Naruto motioned to his eye. Sasuke snorted. "Mother might not, but don't bet on it. Father will. Chief of police and all that tends to make him fairly observant." Nartuo sighed and slumped back into his seat. Sasuke grinned at him sadly and reached across the seat to run his fingers through Naruto's hair.

"One of these days, they're going to stop believing the entire klutzy routine." Sasuke chuckled and put out the rest of the cigarette in the car's ash tray.

"One of these days being your eighteenth Birthday." They both grinned at each other before movement out of the corner of Naruto's eye caused him to turn and look at the house. There was a figure moving by window. Sasuke apparently noticed as well. He stretched and opened the car door. "Well, time to go and brave my mother's cooking."

Naruto laughed and waited for Sasuke to grab his bag out of the trunk before he followed him up the sidewalk and into the house.

The smell of Sasuke's house hit him full in the face. Somewhere in the back he could hear the deep, rough tones of Sasuke's father's voice and the light, tinkling laugh of Sasuke's mother. Naruto grinned. This is what a home was supposed to be like.

When they walked into the kitchen, Mr. Uchiha was sitting at the kitchen table, reading through some police reports, occasionally typing something into the laptop set to his side. Mrs. Uchiha was standing by the stove, mixing up some kind of concoction that didn't smell edible. Both looked up to greet him, but Mrs. Uchiha gasped when she saw Naruto's face.

"Naruto, dear, what happened?" Naruto shot Sasuke a look. Sasuke fought a grin and turned away slightly. Naruto turned back to Sasuke's mother and shrugged, rubbing the back of his head.

"I tripped going down the stairs and had an unfortunate landing." Mrs. Uchiha grabbed an ice pack from the freezer and came forward to place it on his eye. Mr. Uchiha didn't seem impressed.

"You should be more careful, boy. Every time I see you, you're banged up." Sasuke choked at the comment. Naruto slapped him on the back. Hard.

"Yes sir. I try to be careful, but I'm a bit klutzy." Mr. Uchiha snorted, and his wife threw him a nasty look.

"Well, you boys are just in time for dinner. Take a seat." She turned back to the stove to tackle the semi-sentient meal. Naruto looked back at Sasuke in concern. Sasuke shrugged.

"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger." Naruto punched his arm.

"You keep telling me that. I don't believe you yet."

* * *

_Present…_

"Vegas?" All three male voices chimed in together. Sakura nodded and headed towards Sasuke's car. Sasuke scowled and jumped down the steps to keep pace with her.

"More importantly, why do I have to drive you?"

"Because we'll need witnesses. Pop your trunk." Sasuke leaned against his trunk as if preventing Sakura from opening it herself.

"Find witnesses when you get there. I'm not driving a week out of my way. I already drove here. I'm not wasting my time with your silliness." Sakura got up in his face.

"Pop your trunk." Sasuke pushed himself back into her face.

"Over my dead body." Sakura shot a look over her shoulder to Naruto, who shrugged. Naruto felt pretty safe that this wasn't going to go anywhere. Sasuke wouldn't let it. Sasuke was very much a no nonsense person. He could depend on Sasuke to put his foot down and not to…

Sakura pulled Saskue's ear down to mouth level and whispered something in his ear. When she released him, Sasuke stared at her a long time before he turned and unlocked his trunk. Naruto's jaw dropped.

"Wait, Sasuke are you serious?" Sasuke shrugged. Sakura turned on him and motioned him to bring the bags over. He did, still looking at Sasuke like he had lost his mind.

"Kiba, get in the car."

"Hell no woman."

"Kiba, get in the car. Or this wedding isn't happening." Kiba sulked over to the car and waited for Sasuke to unlock it. Sakura finally turned to Naruto and put her hands on her hips. "Your bags are still in your car, right?"

"Yea."

"Well, what are you waiting for? Go get them so we can leave."

"Why do I have to go?" Naruto would later deny the whining, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

"We need witnesses…"

"You have Sasuke!"

"…and you're the best man. Go get your bags."

Naruto struggled to come up with an argument. Finally, "Can't we leave tomorrow? Or later today, I guess. It's already two in the morning!"

Sakura huffed. "Because we'll make better time if we leave now." Something about that reasoning didn't sit well with him, but he was apparently outnumbered. Sasuke and Kiba were glaring at him, like they were going to force him to come whether he like it or not.

His suspicions were confirmed when Sasuke mumbled, "If I have to go along with this insanity, you do too." His comment was supported full-heartedly by Kiba, who was nodding enthusiastically. Naruto sighed and walked to his car to get his bags. He dropped his bags in Sasuke's open trunk. Sasuke slammed the trunk closed and looked at Naruto. Kiba and Sakura were already in the back seat. Naruto sighed and turned to face Sasuke.

"Some how, I can't see this ending well." Sasuke chuckled.

"Probably not."

As Naruto settled himself in the passenger seat, he decided that now was as good a time as any to scrap his plan.

He needed new friends.


	3. Chapter 3: Monday

**Chapter Three: Monday**

_Present…_

Naruto suspected that Kiba and Sakura were asleep. It had been several hours since they had pulled out of the lodge. Sakura had called her parents to tell them that she was leaving. Naruto didn't think that they understood that she was leaving to get married in Vegas, since her mom kept telling her "Ok Sweetheart, just be back in time for the rehearsal." In the end, Sakura had just told her parents that she'd call them later.

Naruto turned in his seat to check up on the soon-to-be newly weds. Kiba was staring blankly out the window, but Naruto couldn't decide if he was awake or not. He had perfected the art of sleeping with his eyes open in High School. Sakura he knew was asleep. She was leaning over with her head on Kiba's shoulder, mouth hanging wide open. Naruto wondered if Kiba would complain about the drool spot on his shoulder.

He sighed and turned back in his seat. Well, this was awkward. Naruto fidgeted in his seat. What did you say to your ex soul mate? "So, how are you holding up?" Sasuke shrugged. "Well, whenever you're tired, I think it'd be okay to pull over." No reaction. Naruto huffed. "Unless, you'd like me to drive for a bit." That got a reaction out of Sasuke. He turned and glared at Naruto. Naruto fought the satisfied grin. Sasuke never let anyone drive his car. Naruto pointed forward at the road. "Eyes on the road, dude."

Sasuke snorted and leaned back in his seat to pull something out of his pocket. A cigarette and lighter. He put the cigarette in his mouth and fought with the lighter for a few moments before Naruto huffed and took it from him. It took twice for him to flick it to life. He turned and took the cigarette out of Sasuke's mouth and put it into his own to light it. He coughed as it lit and handed it back to Sasuke. He grinned when he saw that Sasuke had cracked the window down.

"You know," Naruto said as Sasuke inhaled on his cancer stick, "Freud would say that you have an oral fixation." He lowered his voice conspiratorially. "Usually that happens when the mother weans her baby too soon. Did your mom wean you too soon, Sasuke?" Sasuke snorted.

"Oh, that's right. You're a psychiatrist." Naruto was mildly surprised.

"Are you keeping tabs on me, Sasuke?" Sasuke shifted in his seat.

"I'm still friends with Kiba, Naruto. He told me."

"Uh-huh." They lapsed into silence for a couple of minutes before Sasuke motioned to Naruot's seat.

"There's a GPS unit underneath your seat. Go ahead and get that out and program in Vegas." Naruto did as he was told.

"It says it's a 38 hour trip." Sasuke hummed.

"Yea, but I'm not going to push it. I'll plan on getting there in three days."

"Including tonight?" Sasuke shrugged.

"We'll see." There was silence again. Naruto shifted and looked over his shoulder. They were still asleep. Lucky them. Naruto turned back around in his seat and began to fidget with the GPS bag.

"I work with children." Sasuke exhaled his smoke and turned his face towards Naruto without taking his eyes of his road.

"Any particular kind of children?"

Naruto swallowed hard. "I work with children who have been taken out of abusive homes." Sasuke looked at him sharply.

"Is that a good idea?" It was Naruto's turn to shrug.

"Yea, I think so. I can empathize with them. I understand where they're coming from and I don't patronize them. They sense that and are able to open up to me a bit more. And I think that it helps me too. If I can help them, maybe I can help myself."

Sasuke's gaze was back on the road again, but he was tapping the steering wheel with his index finger. "But it must be hard, when they first come in." Naruto nodded, but realized that Sasuke couldn't hear his head rattle.

"Yea, it's really hard sometimes. Sometimes I cry with them. But if I can help them, I think it's worth it." Sasuke hummed again and they relaxed back into silence again. Finally, Sasuke broke the silence.

"An oral fixation, huh? Well, I suppose if I were to stop smoking I'd have to find something else to fixate on." Naruto blushed and sputtered and Sasuke laughed at his expression.

* * *

_Ten years ago…_

"Ugh, Sasuke, how do you manage that night after night?" Sasuke chuckled.

"Mom's cooking is an acquired taste." At Naruto's look of disbelief, Sasuke clarified, "I've built up a tolerance." Naruto laughed and flopped face first on the bed. Sasuke came and pulled on his arm. "Go get ready for bed."

"No," Naruto whined. Sasuke laughed and pulled up on Naruto's arm again.

"Come on, Naruto. The sooner you're ready for bed the sooner we can go to bed." Naruto waved his arm around in an attempt to whack Sasuke.

"Perv."

"Naruto, I meant to sleep. Who's the perv?" Naruto sat up in shock in time to see Sasuke disappear around the corner. He sighed and decided he should probably get ready for bed.

When he came out of the bathroom, Sasuke was there, sitting at his desk in his boxers and white oversized sleep shirt, already getting a head start on the homework that was due on Monday. Naruto grinned and decided to let Sasuke work. He had learned early on that once Sasuke was in a "work-zone" it was best to not interrupt him. Instead he went back over to the bed and resumed his flopped position.

He was almost asleep when he felt a weight sink the bed next to his hip. He grinned and rolled over on his back to look up Sasuke. Sasuke's face was relaxed, pleased that Naruto was there with him. It was so rare that Naruto got to see that expression on Sasuke's face that he savored these moments. Sasuke leaned down over Naruto and kissed him gently. Naruto sighed into the kiss and wrapped his arms around Sasuke's neck to pull him down closer to him. Sasuke relaxed his weight on Naruto's side so that he could run a hand up under Naruto's shirt. Naruto just about bit Sasuke's lip off, though, when Sasuke gripped his side.

"Ow, Sasuke!" Sasuke sat up startled.

"What, Naruto? What's wrong?" Naruto whimpered. He had hoped that he could get through the weekend without Sasuke finding out, but he was quickly realizing that this might be a mute point. He struggled with Sasuke to keep his shirt down while Sasuke seemed determined to pull it up to see what was wrong.

"Nothing's wrong, Sasuke. Kiss me again?" Sasuke frowned at him and finally succeeded in pulling his shirt up. Naruto knew that Sasuke saw it. His eyes widened, and for a moment he held his breath before it started to come out fast between clenched teeth.

"Naruto. What. The. Hell?" Naruto vainly tried to pull his shirt down, but Sasuke was having none of that.

"It looks worse than it is, Sasuke. Kiss it and make it better?" Sasuke's wide eyes shot to Naruto's face before looking back down at the hideously black bruise that extended across his abdomen. Sasuek gently touched the injury, and Naruto couldn't help the flinch. It wasn't from pain, but from the split second flashback of being curled on the floor in fetal position while his foster father kicked at his soft belly. Apparently the flinch was enough to send Sasuke into a panic, and in the next moment, Sasuke was out of the bed and across the floor. "Sasuke, no…"

"Dad! Dad! Come quick; I need you!" There was a thud from down stairs and then quick foot steps headed up the stairs.

"What's wrong, Sasuke?" Sasuke met him at the door and motioned towards Naruto, who was still half laying down and half sitting up, reaching for Sasuke.

"It's Naruto. I think he's hurt pretty bad."

Mr. Uchiha marched across the room and kneeled by the bed. Naruto had tried to pull his shirt down again, but his attempt got his hand slapped away. Mr. Uchiha studied the injury, running his fingers around the bottom ribs to insure nothing was broken. When he had gotten a good sense of the wound, he leveled Naruto with a very serious look.

"Got this from falling down the stairs as well, did we?"

Naruto gulped.

* * *

_Present…_

"I think it's time to pull over. Keep your eyes peeled for a hotel."

Sasuke's voice startled Naruto out of his musings. "Oh, okay."

"What's going on?" Apparently, Sakura was finally awake.

"We're stopping." And apparently, Kiba had been awake. There was silence from the back seat for a couple of seconds before Sakura was leaning forward between Sasuke and Naruto's seats.

"Where are we?" Sasuke checked the GPS.

"We just got into Georgia. And I'm tired, so we are stopping." Sakura nodded, satisfied.

"Okay, sounds good. We've made some good time, haven't we?" Naruto checked the clock.

"It's almost dawn, Sakura. I hope you aren't expecting to get an early start tomorrow." Sakura went to reply, but Sasuke cut her off.

"No, we're not. I'm sleeping in."


	4. Chapter 4: Tuesday

**Chapter Four: Tuesday**

_Present…_

Naruto was startled awake by a strong hand shaking his shoulder. For a moment he was back in his childhood home with his foster father standing over him. But his vision finally settled on Sasuke's face.

"You were whimpering and crying in your sleep." He paused for a moment before standing up straight. "And if you wake Sakura, she'll want to leave. And it isn't noon yet." Naruto threw him a nasty glare before getting out of bed and heading to the hotel door. He made sure he had his key card before slipping out of the room. They were on the second story, so Naruto sat on the edge of the walkway and dangled his feet out from under the railing. He rested his head on one of the posts, the cool metal helping to further wake him. Naruto was an old hat at nightmares, but it still took him some time to come out of it.

He heard the door close behind him. He rolled his head on the post to see Sasuke's bare feet come and stand beside him. There was the familiar click of the lighter and the smell of cigarette smoke. "Why didn't you quite?"

"I had no reason to," Sasuke shot back. Naruto felt a flicker of guilt before he reminded himself it was Sasuke's fault that they were no longer together. He leaned back on his hands and looked up at Sasuke.

"You say that like it's my fault."

"It's not," Sasuke was quick to amend. "It's mine. Doesn't change the outcome regardless." Naruto scowled at him and went back to resting his head against the post. "You had a nightmare?" Naruto nodded. "Does that happen a lot?" Again, Naruto nodded. There was silence for a bit, and then, "I would have still have come and gotten you. You never called." Naruto huffed and finally stood up.

"To be honest, Sasuke, at that point in time I would have rather dealt with my foster father than you." It was a nasty remark, but it was the truth. He could handle the physical pain, but the emotional torment of seeing Sasuke again would have been too much for his frayed nerves. Sasuke stood there for a moment, the cigarette hanging limply between his lips. Naruto ran his fingers through his hair. "I'm going to take a shower before Sakura gets up." He turned and went back into the room, leaving Sasuke to look out over the walkway.

By the time he got out of the shower, Sasuke had gotten Sakura and Kiba up and had most of the bags packed. Sakura was dressed in her wedding dress.

"You're going to get your dress wrinkled," Naruto pointed out.

"I paid a small fortune for this dress; I'm going to wear it." She rounded on Sasuke, who was stacking bags by the door. "Why are we leaving so early? Last night you said we wouldn't leave before noon." Sasuke shrugged and Sakura threw her arms in the air. "Men," she huffed and headed to the door.

The car ride was silent. Kiba may have fallen back asleep, and Sakura was staring resolutely at the back of Sasuke's chair. Naruto was usually the one to break silences, but his remark to Sasuke that morning had left a bad taste in his mouth. And it had always been like pulling teeth to get Sasuke to start a conversation.

"So, Sasuke," Kiba finally sliced through the silence, "how's life on the force?" Naruto shifted in his seat to look at Sasuke.

"You're a police officer now?" Sasuke shrugged.

"Family business."

"How's that injury healing up?" Naruto shot Kiba a glance before turning back on Sasuke.

"What injury? What happened?"

"This idiot here "forgot" to where his bullet proof vest during a sting. Got all shot the Hell up." Naruto's jaw dropped.

"You forgot to wear your bullet proof vest? How does one forget to put on a bullet proof vest when you know you're going to be walking into bullets?" Sasuke shrugged again. Naruto ran his fingers through his hair. "Well, how bad was it?" Again, Sasuke shrugged, so Kiba chimed in.

"He was in the hospital for a while. Three shots, one in his shoulder and two in his side. He was in a coma for a week."

"Sasuke…"

"I'm still alive, aren't I? Lay off."

"And he's learned an important lesson." Sakura finally joined the conversation. "This is a depressing conversation, and we shouldn't dwell on the past. Does your radio work?" Sasuke reached forward and turned the radio on and the car lapsed into silence again. Naruto felt sick to his stomach.

They drove in silence for the rest of the day and into most of the night.

* * *

_Ten Years Ago…_

Sasuke's parents had bandaged him up and had given Sasuke strict instructions to watch him. They didn't think that there was any internal damage, but if he started coughing up blood or if he suddenly became lethargic they were planning on taking him to the hospital. They had left a couple of minutes ago, Sasuke right behind them with a kiss to Naruto's forehead and a promise to be right back. Naruto was thirsty, though, so he got up to go get a drink. There were voices at the bottom of the stairs, and what they were saying caused Naruto to freeze and duck behind the wall.

"Sasuke, that was a boot print on his stomach, so I know he lied to me when he said he fell down the stairs. My question is if you're lying to me. Do you know who did that to him?" There was silence from Sasuke, and Naruto could just see him shrugging. "He's come home with you beaten up before, so I'm going to assume that this is domestic abuse. I'm going to file a report in the morning. That means CPS is going to get involved."

"No! Dad, please don't."

"I'm surprised at you Sasuke. Naruto is getting hurt and you aren't doing anything. That's not the son I raised." There was silence for a couple of moments, and then Sasuke mumbled out a response.

"Naruto gets bullied sometimes at school." It wasn't a lie. Sometimes the fact he had no parents, and to be honest, sometimes his sexual orientation, caused him just to be too different. And teenagers never liked different. But, the bullying never went so far as Sasuke was implying. That was mostly due to the fact that most the school was scared of Sasuke, and his police chief father.

"That was an awfully big boot print in his side for a teenager." Naruto had heard enough. He turned and crept back into Sasuke's room. He lay curled up on Sasuke's bed for some time before Sasuke came back in. Naruto looked up at him and pouted.

"Is your dad going to call CPS?" Sasuke froze.

"You heard that?" Naruto nodded, and Sasuke sighed and sat on the bed. "Probably. But, by the time they get through all the red tape, you'll be eighteen and living here." Naruto felt slightly better. He reached up and pulled Sasuke down to him. Sasuke kissed his temple and curled up next to him. "Look Naruto, I really think we should just stay home tomorrow night, all right? You're hurt and I don't want it to get worse." Naruto pouted.

"But I've been looking forward to Sakura's party all week! I'm fine Sasuke." Sasuke considered him for a couple of moments before he replied.

"All right, how about we compromise?" Naruto nudged him to continue. "We'll go for a couple of hours, but we'll come home early." Naruto thought about his compromise before he nodded.

"Deal. But you'll have so much fun that you won't want to leave early." Sasuke chuckled and twisted so he could click the light off.

"I doubt that. Really, I'm just looking forward to bringing you home."

* * *

_Present… _

"You're a God-damned slave driver, Uchiha." Sasuke had the nerve to shrug and threw the cigarette he had been smoking on the ground. Sakura had been whining for close to two hours for Sasuke to pull over. The last hour, she had resorted to bouncing in her seat and begging, and even Kiba had chimed in and said that she was about to make a mess in the seat. It was only after Naruto had chimed in and told Sasuke he was being an unreasonable bastard that Sasuke had started looking for a rest stop. And when Sakura had gotten in line to buy a bottled drink, Sasuke had stormed in and cut her off from all drinks.

"We're making good time. And I'd like to get this fiasco over with as soon as possible." Sakura looked like she was about to murder the nonchalant Uchiha, so Naruto decided it was time to enter the conversation.

"Where are we?" Sasuke relaxed against the hood of his car and looked over to where Kiba was dancing around outside of the restroom.

"Somewhere in the middle of Arkansas. We should make it to the Texas border before we have to pull over for the night…day…whatever." It was probably pretty close to four in the morning, but driving at odd hours just meant less traffic. Sasuke, at least, seemed pleased with the driving schedule.

Naruto grinned at him. Naruto was familiar with that determined crease between his eyebrows. "Do you want me to drive?" Sasuke shot him a grin.

"Not in this lifetime, idiot." Naruto chuckled.

"Well, doesn't hurt to offer."

"You never know," Sasuke's light voice answered him, "I may have a momentary lapse of judgment and agree to it." It was meant as a tease, but something about the statement rubbed Naruto the wrong way. He fought with himself for a moment to stop himself from saying what he was thinking, but he never did have a brain-mouth filter.

"Yea, and we all know that you are prone to momentary lapses of judgments that cause you to agree to things. Agreeing to drive Sakura to Vegas on a whim, agreeing to sleep with random blondes when you're dating another blonde, things like that." Sasuke clenched his jaw and turned away from him. Sakura coughed delicately at the tension and Kiba chose that moment to return to the car.

"Kiba's here. Ready to go?" Sasuke didn't answer, but turned to open the driver's door. Sakura moved to get into the car, but Naruto reached out a hand to hold onto her elbow.

"Can you trade me spots? Just for this stint, okay? I'd like to talk to Kiba for a while." Sakura chewed her lip before nodding and moving to get into the front passenger seat. Sasuke didn't seem surprised at the switch and Kiba just shot him a confused look, but kept his mouth shut.

Naruto leaned his head against the window and tried not to notice Sasuke, or the way his shoulders were stiff or the way that the speedometer was edging to a number Naruto was positive wasn't legal. He reminded himself that he wasn't the villain, that he had never done anything wrong, that it had been Sasuke who ruined everything.

But nothing took the bitter taste out of his mouth, or the urge to cry and climb over the seat and kiss Sasuke until he forgave him. Instead, he fell asleep to the thrumming growl of Sasuke's car.


	5. Chapter 5: Wednesday

**Because I have two exams and a paper due next week, and I don't want to study, here's a super fast update. Hooray for procrastination!**

* * *

**Chapter Five: Wednesday**

_Present…_

Naruto was shook awake in the middle of the night. They had found a motel along the interstate somewhere on the border of Texas and New Mexico. Sasuke had estimated that they would be in Nevada by tomorrow evening. Naruto was glad their trip was almost over. Seeing the tension between Kiba and Sakura was a constant reminder that their wedding was a farce and the time spent sitting in the car next to Sasuke was physically painful, like a gapping wound in his chest.

The pain of seeing Sasuke again wasn't lessened any by the fact that he was waking him up at- Naruto turned to check the clock next to his bed- six thirty in the morning. "What. The. Fuck. Uchiha?" Sasuke's scowl was dark and unamused.

"Shut the fuck up you complete and utter moron." Sasuke grabbed Naruto's elbow and pulled him out of bed and shoved him towards the door. Naruto tripped over Sasuke's blankets, spread out on the floor, and shot a glance over to the bed next to his to see if their quick and violent conversation had been overheard. Luckily both Kiba and Sakura were still asleep and, Naruto grinned, cuddled up to each other. Glad that they were still asleep, Naruto jerked his arm away from Sasuke's grip and turned to square off against him.

"Don't touch me. What is wrong with you?" Sasuke pushed at his shoulder again.

"Outside. Now."

"Don't tell me what to do, Bastard!" Sasuke's glare, if possible darkened as he moved closer to Naruto to growl in his face.

"I carry a gun." Naruto considered his options, checked on Sakura and Kiba again, before turning back to face Sasuke.

"Fine," he whispered harshly, "but only because I don't want to wake Sakura." For a moment, Naruto thought Sasuke was going to hit him. There was an all too familiar expression on Sasuke's face, but Naruto had only ever seen it on his foster father's. Instead, Sasuke gripped his elbow again and marched him out the door. They were on the ground floor of the motel this time, so Sasuke had free reign to drag Naruto across the parking lot where there were a few trees. Sasuke threw Naruto into one of the trees before he started pacing, back and forth. Naruto was seriously considering telling the bastard off and going back to bed, but he wasn't willing to push his luck quiet yet. He wondered if Sasuke had his gun on him now.

"Were you with her?" Naruto's mind wasn't quite awake yet, so he answered Sasuke's vague question with a frown and a shrug.

"What? Who?" Sasuke growled.

"Sakura. Were you with her?"

"Um. Yea? We've both been with her for the past couple of days." Naruto was positive he was missing something. And all he wanted was to go back to bed!

"Stop playing the idiot. Did you fuck her?"

"What? No. I…" Naruto's mind finally started to catch up with his body. He hadn't really seen Sakura since graduation, only talked to her through emails and Kiba. And besides, she had always been with Kiba, had been dead devoted to him ever since…

And like a two-by-four to the back of his head, Naruto understood exactly what Sasuke was asking. The knife Sasuke had let rust in his heart twisted a bit more, and the boiling hot anger started to race up his throat for the first time in years. Naruto clenched his fists hard, counted to ten, and quickly gave himself the typical therapist 'Violence Doesn't Solve Anything' speech before deciding "to Hell with it" and threw a punch at Sasuke's face.

"Fuck!" Naruto was unprepared for the pain radiating up his arm. He was fairly sure he broke every bone in his hand, but it was worth it to see Sasuke on his ass with blood pouring out his nose. He shook his hand before cradling it to his chest. "You are such a fucking bastard!"

Sasuke was already standing, but he looked more wary now than pissed. But, true to character, Sasuke didn't let it drop there. "You still haven't answered." He paused, before rallying himself with a glare and saying accusingly, "She was moaning your name in her sleep."

Naruto winced and made a mental note to talk with Sakura. His wince only made Sasuke's eyes narrow further, and Naruto was tempted to punch him again. But he knew that Sasuke was prepared for that, and he never was able to hit him twice. Instead, he gritted his teeth and forced out an answer. "No." He took a few breaths before adding, "You're the cheater. Not me." Sasuke threw his hands in the air; Naruto hoped that his flinch went unnoticed by the other man.

"That was ten years ago. It was a mistake, and I don't even remember any of it."

"You don't remember?" Naruto was positive he was yelling, and any minute now the entire rest of the motel would be coming out. "Let me refresh your memory. You fucked some girl that you just met; I walked in on you and…"

"Naruto," Sasuke barked, cutting him off. Naruto was mildly glad- he didn't want to relive it any more than Sasuke apparently did. "That's not what I meant. The last thing I remember is Sakura asking you for help in the kitchen. Then, everything else is blank."

Naruto snorted in disbelief. "I would think that having sex with someone would be something you remembered." Sasuke shook his head.

"I must have thought she was you." Naruto laughed bitterly.

"You thought she was me? Didn't you think the boobs and absence of a dick were suspicious?" Sasuke scowled at him.

"I was drunk."

"You had one beer. I've seen you down a case and still be able to walk straight. I don't buy that for one second." Sasuke growled at the back of his throat and started to pull on a strand of hair.

"I know! I don't know what went wrong. There must have been something in it."

"Oh please, Sasuke. I've had enough with your excuses." Naruto turned to leave, but Sasuke was grabbing onto his arm with one hand and his hand with the other. Naruto was having flash-backs to _that_ night, but there was something cool and round pressing into his palm. Sasuke turned Naruto's hand so that it wouldn't fall out before letting him go. Naruto looked at it carefully. It was an A.A. sobriety coin.

"I relive that night constantly in my mind, trying to remember anything or find some clue that could tell me what happened. I always come up blank. I haven't drunk anything since that night." Sasuke moved to cross his arms over his chest, stopped half-way, and forced his arms down by his side. The clinical side of Naruto's brain quickly identified the gestures of defense and defiance; the other half was screaming at Naruto to either punch him again or kiss him. He didn't do either, but stood and waited for Sasuke to continue. "That's the only thing I've ever come up with. I don't…I don't know what else to tell you. I know that there's no way I would have ever cheated on you. I couldn't. You were the only good thing to ever happen to me, and the only person I ever trusted. You still are."

"Sasuke," Naruto whimpered, "please stop. I can't."

"Can't what?" Sasuke whispered back.

"It hurts." Sasuke reached forward to take Naruto's hand, but Naruto pulled it away. "You were the only person I trusted. You were the only one I could depend on. And you betrayed me. Intentional or not, I don't know if I can forgive you."

Sasuke fisted his hands by his side and nodded. "That's…that's fair. I'm s-sorry. I'll let you go back to sleep, now." Naruto had never heard Sasuke stutter. It was a foreign concept. He watched as Sasuke walked past him, headed back to the motel, before he reached out and pressed the A.A. coin back in Sasuke's palm.

"I didn't say it was impossible. Nothing's impossible. Just not now." Sasuke's face remained blank while he processed that before he grinned at Naruto bitterly.

"That's fair." Naruto nodded and turned back to the motel.

"Good, then I'm going back to bed. Don't bother to wake me again." He heard Sasuke chuckle behind him. The ache in his chest was still there, and he was still angry as Hell, but the knot of pain was loosed, even if just a bit.

* * *

_Ten years ago…_

"Are you absolutely positive we have to be here?" Naruto grinned at Sasuke from the passenger seat.

"Well, I could always go by myself and you could just go home." Sasuke glared at him.

"I don't think so." Naruto laughed and leaned across the car to kiss Sasuke's frown. He winced as the gear-shift dug into his side. Sasuke saw his wince and opened his mouth to comment, but Naruto cut him off. "I'm fine. Now come on grumpy-butt, time to go be social. Sakura's invited a whole bunch of people, including some from her old school."

"Joy," Sasuke mumbled. They finally got out of the car and walked up the sidewalk to the front door. The sounds of a party could already be heard through the thick door and Naruto hoped that Sakura could hear the bell. Moments later, the door swung open to reveal Sakura.

"Naruto!" she squealed and threw herself in his arms. Naruto winced at the pressure on his injuries, but hugged her back regardless. Behind him, he could hear Sasuke mumble about idiot girls who wouldn't know when an injured person showed up on their doorstep. Finally, Sakura leaned back and noticed his black eye. "Oh, Naruto! What happened? Did Sasuke do that?"

"Listen you little…"

"No, of course not! I ran into a wall."

"Again?" Sakura asked. She threw a suspicious glare over Naruto's shoulder. There were rumors circulating as to why Naruto was always bruised, and unfortunately, Sasuke always ended up on the short end of those, despite Naruto's adamant refusal of Sasuke's involvement. Sakura frowned at Naruto's grin and shrug before linking arms with him and ushering him inside the house. Naruto smiled at Sasuke over his shoulder and blew him a kiss. Sasuke rolled his eyes and followed them inside.

"Where's Kiba?" Naruto glanced around the room to find his best friend. Sakura shrugged.

"Who cares? I want to introduce you to one of my old friends." Sakura motioned for a girl across the room to come over. "Naruto, this is my friend Ino. Ino, this is the guy I was telling you about." The girl was pretty, tall and blonde. Naruto grinned at her and held his hand out.

"Hey, Naruto. It's so nice to finally meet you."

"You too. Don't believe everything Sakura's told you, though." Ino laughed, clear and light.

"How unfortunate! Sakura's only had the highest praise for you!" Naruto blushed and didn't know how to reply. He heard a shifting behind him, though, so Naruto decided to make Sasuke suffer with him.

"Oh, Ino, let me introduce you to my boyfriend." He stressed that last word as he hauled Sasuke forward, for both Sakura's and Ino's benefit. Ino's eyes widened slightly before she shot a quick glance to Sakura. Naruto mentally stuck his tongue out at her. "This is Sasuke." Sasuke kissed his forehead before extending a hand towards Ino.

"Pleasure." Ino hesitated and shot Sakura another glance before shaking Sasuke's hand.

"Likewise." Naruto grinned at them and leaned back into Sasuke. Sasuke apparently took this as a sign that Naruto was tired and, with a nod to Ino and Sakura, ushered Naruto over to the couch. Naruto obliged him, because he was tired and his insides hurt, and sat happily next to Sasuke.

"Naruto, can I get you a drink? We have beer."

Naruto went to reply, but Sasuke answered for him. "No, water's fine for him." At Sakura and Naruto's looks, Sasuke turned to address Naruto. "I think your internal organs have been through enough, don't you?" Naruto rubbed his abdomen before he nodded and answered Sakura.

"Water's fine." Sakura nodded before turning to Sasuke.

"Can I get you a beer?" Sasuke shrugged and Sakura went to get their drinks. Naruto turned and grinned at Sasuke.

"So I get to drive home, right?" Sasuke wrinkled his nose.

"No. I'm assuming we'll be here a while." Naruto laughed. "By the time you're ready to leave, I'm positive I'll be just fine to drive home." Naruto kissed his cheek as Sakura came back with their drinks.

The party was going well. Naruto was having a lot of fun catching up with friends outside of school, and even Sasuke seemed relaxed and having a conversation with Neji about upcoming exams. Sakura was playing the good host, making sure that everyone had enough food, drink, and music to have a good time.

"Sasuke, do you want anything more to drink?" Sasuke wrinkled his nose and shook his head. Naruto grinned and replied for him.

"Thanks, Sakura, but he has to be able to drive us home." Sakura nodded and still stood up.

"Okay, then can you come help me in the kitchen? The delivery boy just dropped off a few more pizzas." Naruto nodded and stood to help her. Sasuke groaned a bit and held onto Naruto's arm.

"Stay." Naruto grinned at the pouty face and leaned down to kiss him.

"Be right back. Play nicely while I'm gone!" And with one last kiss to Sasuke's temple, Naruto followed Sakura into the kitchen.

* * *

_Present…_

"It's so pretty!" Sakura exclaimed from the back seat. Naruto was inclined to agree. Everywhere he looked there were bright lights, loud music, and colors everywhere. Even Sasuke grinned at him from the driver's seat.

"Well, do you want to find a chapel now or find a place to stay first?" Sasuke asked, looking at Sakura in the rear-view. She stretched, raking her nails across ceiling, making Sasuke wince, before she replied.

"Let's find a place to stay tonight. I'm tired."

"You haven't done anything, woman! All you've done is sit in the back of the car and sleep." Kiba said. Naruto winced and made a face at Sasuke. Sasuke grinned and started the car forward.

"Well at this rate, maybe we won't need to find the chapel."

"Don't say that!" Sasuke told Naruto, speaking over the argument that had erupted in the back seat. "I do not want to have driven all the way out here for nothing."

Naruto leaned back in his seat and shot Sasuke a glance. "Well, it wasn't all for nothing, was it?" Sasuke pulled into the parking lot of a hotel and considered Naruto carefully before he smiled at him.

"No, definitely not."


	6. Chapter 6: Thursday

**Still procrastinating on studying for exams. Of course, I could just be making up for being gone for weeks on end. I'm off to study for sure this time, so it might be at least another week before the next update.**

**Thanks for all the reviews! Hope you like this chapter as well!**

* * *

**Chapter Six: Thursday**

_Present…_

Naruto sighed again as Sakura rejected the last of the chapels and moved to stand on the balcony. Sasuke and Kiba shot each other looks before Kiba leaned forward and nudged Naruto.

"Dude…you're the Maid-of-Honor fill in; go talk to her." Naruto wrinkled his nose.

"I'm positive I didn't sign up for that." Kiba looked pleadingly back at Naruto.

"Well, you did sign up to be my Best Man." He left his comment hanging before Naruto sighed and moved to stand up.

The day had started off well enough. It was noon, they'd eaten, and he no longer felt like throwing up when Sasuke would gently brush his arm. Then everything went down hill when they started looking up chapels for the little shot-gun wedding. Sakura had first said that there was no way that she was going to be married by an Elvis impersonator, which eliminated half of the options right there, then said that she didn't want any place red, as it would clash with her hair, or too small, or too big. In the end, she had gone through the entire list of chapel and rejected them all before huffing and removing herself from the room to stand on the balcony, over looking the busy streets of tourists.

The clinical side of Naruto's brain was already in over drive. He knew that Sakura was postponing her wedding on purpose. He also had a feeling he knew why. But, if there was one thing his job had taught him it was to not jump to conclusions. So, with one last look at Kiba's hopeful expression, he slid the glass door closed. Sakura looked back at him from her position of leaning against the railing.

"Did they send you out to play the psychiatrist?" Naruto shrugged and answered her with another question.

"Do you need one?" Sakura watched as Naruto leaned against the railing next to her before she answered.

"No, I need a friend." Naruto grinned and bumped her shoulder with his.

"I can do that too. Speak."

Sakura shrugged and rested her chin on her arms. "What's there to say?"

"Well, you could start by telling me why we're out here in Vegas when all of your guests are back in South Carolina." Sakura went to reply, but Naruto cut her off before she could lie to him. "And don't give me that crap about Kiba seeing you in your wedding dress." She grinned at him before her face fell.

"Do you know why I slept with him that night?" Naruto winced, but shook his head, allowing her to continue. "He reminded me of you."

Naruto caught his breath and went to stop her from continuing. He was positive he didn't want to be having this conversation now. "Sakura…"

"No, listen," she interrupted. "I was hurt and drunk. You had rejected me again and Kiba was there with that big, goofy grin he always has on. I thought I could pretend it was you."

It was all of Naruto's worst fears confirmed. He had hoped that somehow, his two best friends did actually love each other and weren't just together out of convenience. His chest hurt, but Sakura didn't seem like she was done yet.

"I had meant to forget everything about that night. But then I found out I was pregnant. And I knew who the father was. So did Kiba. I told him to forget about it, that I wouldn't tell my parents that he was the father, but he refused. He said that he would stand by me and help me. He stood there while my parents screamed at him and accused him of horrible things. He never waivered." Naruto nodded and grinned.

"He's very loyal." Sakura chuckled and nodded back.

"Yes. It was the first time that I actually saw him for who he was. Up until then, he was always just the goofy friend." Naruto smiled sadly.

"He is the best of friends. He is truly a good guy." Sakura looked up at Naruto and agreed quickly.

"I know, Naruto. I know. Please let me get this out." Naruto motioned for her to continue, which she did after taking a deep breath. "I was so scarred about having the baby. Kiba, I guess in an attempt to make me feel better, started telling me stories about what a wonderful family we'd be, how wonderful our baby would be, how perfect our lives would be. And I believed him," she laughed bitterly. "And after a couple of months, I actually started to look forward to it."

Naruto was beginning to catch on, but he wanted to let Sakura work it out. "And then you miscarried," he went on for her. She nodded.

"Yes. And I felt like I lost everything. I thought that Kiba would leave, since he had no reason to stay anymore."

"But he stayed," Naruto pointed out.

"He stayed," Sakura confirmed. They lapsed into silence for a bit before Naruto decided he needed to prompt Sakura again.

"Why do you think he stayed?" Sakura shrugged.

"I don't know. Maybe his stories of us being together sounded just as good to him."

Naruto hummed at the back of his throat. "And after ten years? Does the story still sound good?" Sakura hesitated, but finally nodded. "It doesn't just have to be a story, you know. It could be a reality. You're going to marry him." Sakura sighed and leaned away from the railing, but still holding onto it, letting her weight swing her slightly.

"I know. And I want to marry him. But…" she cut herself off and shot Naruto a glance.

"But?" Naruto prompted.

"But is it possible for us to be together, for us to be happy, in light of how we got together in the first place? Because I was drunk and heartbroken?" Naruto sighed and leaned his back against the railing. Kiba and Sasuke were still inside talking. Kiba was fidgeting with a "Chapel of Love" brochure.

"Do you love him?" he asked.

Sakura hesitated, but finally answered him. "Yes." Naruto grinned. It was the first time he had heard either of them admit it. Perhaps there was hope for them yet.

"Then I think it's possible for you to be together. Regardless of the how, if you love each other, that should be enough. You deserve a happy ending, Sakura." Naruto motioned to the glass sliding door, behind which Kiba was still sulking. "And so does Kiba. He's a good guy," Naruto repeated. Sakura grinned and turned to look at Kiba as well.

"Yes, he is." Naruto sighed and moved to go back inside.

"Then stop stalling. Besides," he laughed, "if you find one more excuse to not get married, Sasuke might just start killing people." He waited to hear Sakura laugh, but when he didn't, he turned to look at her. She had a frown on her face.

"Do you still love him?" Naruto winced and rubbed at his chest, but he supposed that turn-about was fair play.

"Loving him was never the problem."

"But you just said…" Naruto cut her off.

"That's different. It takes two people to make a relationship work." Sakura moved to stand in front of him.

"He still loves you. I know it." Naruto shrugged and went to open the door.

"I'm not so sure. I have a difficult time understanding how one could cheat on the person one loves." He opened the door, but paused from stepping inside by two thin arms wrapping around his waist.

"I don't know what I ever did to deserve such a wonderful friend as you, Naruto." Naruto smiled and patted her arms before she let him go and they moved back inside. Kiba looked up at them with hope in his eyes.

"So, have you decided on a chapel?" Sakura grinned at him and kneeled down next to him.

"Yes. But I want to do this right." Kiba scrunched his eyebrows in confusion, but nodded regardless. Sakura turned to face Sasuke. "I want to go back to South Carolina."

Naruto was worried that Sasuke might punch something, but instead he just clenched his teeth, glared a hole in Sakura's head, and moved to start loading the bags up. He picked up a duffel bag and one of Naruto's overnight bags before turning and slamming out the door. Naruto shot Kiba and Sakura a look before picking up his own load and moving to follow Sasuke.

"Sasuke?" Sasuke growled and slammed the trunk down.

"That idiotic, fickle, spoiled little brat!" Sasuke hissed under his breath. Naruto grinned at him and reached out to touch his elbow.

"Do you think we can make it back in time for the wedding?" Sasuke pulled on a strand of hair before eyeing Naruto carefully.

"Yeah. And probably the rehearsal too, if we drive straight through." Naruto scowled at him.

"You can't do that, Sasuke. That's a long trip to drive." But Sasuke was shaking his head.

"We'll take turns driving."

Naruto knew he had a look of disbelief on his face. Sasuke grinned at him, confirming that he looked like an idiot. He clicked his jaw shut. "Are you sure?" Sasuke sighed before nodding his head.

"Yes. Because I'm clinically nice like that." He grinned and traced the back of Naruto's hand with a finger. "And because I trust you." Naruto chewed the inside of his lip before answering Sasuke with a tentative smile.

"Okay. Then we should get going." Naruto turned to go back inside and tell the couple that Sasuke wasn't going to kill them yet, but paused and threw over his shoulder. "Since you drove all the way out here, I'll take first shift!"

Sasuke's eyes widening was priceless.

* * *

_Ten years ago…_

Naruto glanced around the kitchen, but didn't see any pizza boxes. He turned and looked carefully at Sakura, who was fidgeting with her beer bottle.

"I might have lied. I just wanted to talk to you." Naruto sighed and sat in one of the kitchen chairs.

"You didn't have to lie, Sakura. What did you want to talk about?" Sakura sighed before moving forward to place her drink on the kitchen table and leaning down to kiss Naruto on the mouth. It took a moment for the action to register in Naruto's brain, but when it did, he jerked away harshly and wiped his mouth on the back of his hand. "Sakura? What the Hell?"

"Please, Naruto," she moaned. Naruto shook his head and stood, pushing Sakura back a bit as he did so.

"Sakura, I can't believe you! I'm with Sasuke!" Naruto scowled at her and moved to leave, but Sakura blocked his exit and held onto his wrist.

"Sasuke doesn't love you." There was a hard glint in her eyes that Naruto had never seen there before. "I can love you, Naruto."

Naruto's scowl deepened and he shook his wrist out of Sakura's grip. "Sasuke does love me. And I love him." He took a step to move around her, but her grip was back on her wrist.

"It's not fair!" She slurred slightly, and Naruto's anger at her lessened a fraction. She was just drunk. She wavered slightly, but then settled her weight firmly on her feet. "If you weren't with Sasuke, could you be with me?" Naruto pursed his lips and shook his head.

"I'm sorry, Sakura. It wouldn't change the fact that I don't love you like that." Naruto softened his tone and hugged Sakura lightly, pulling away when she started to settle into him. "You're one of my best friends. That's all." Naruto finally stepped around her and Sakura let him. As he left the kitchen, though, he heard another bottle of beer open.

Naruto looked carefully around the room, not seeing Sasuke anywhere. He turned to one of his friends, Hinata, and asked her where Sasuke went. She blushed, stuttered, and looked away. Naruto frowned at the unintelligible reply before settling back down on the sofa, assuming that Sasuke went to the bathroom and would be back shortly.

Five minutes passed. Then ten. After half an hour, Naruto started to get worried. He got up to move to the window. Sasuke's car was still out there. He felt an arm drape around his neck and was slightly disappointed to see it wasn't Sasuke.

"Don't worry," Kiba slurred, "Uchiha's an ass." Naruto frowned at Kiba's words. Last he knew Kiba and Sasuke were still friends. He shook his head and moved to push Kiba back into a seat. His suspicions were heightened when he saw everyone in the room glance at him quickly before looking away. There was an awful feeling in the pit of his stomach. He turned to face Sasuke's best friend.

"Where's Sasuke?" Neji glanced at him once before shrugging and looking away. Naruto bit his lip. Had Sasuke seen Sakura kiss him? And he was mad now? But, then where was he? Naruto moved to the other window in the room to see if Sasuke was in the back yard. He wasn't there either. Behind him, he heard a few cat-calls and turned to see Sakura straddling Kiba's lap, kissing him hungrily. Naruto raised an eyebrow. That was new. He watched as Sakura hefted Kiba out of the chair and led him down the hallway to her bedroom. He winced as he saw them stumble over each other. He considered following them to stop them, but someone's chuckle behind him stopped him.

"Guess the party's over then."

"Or just getting started," someone else chimed in. "Wonder if I should stay for the fireworks? Fucking train wreck."

Another voice, Tenten's Naruto recognized, chimed in. "No, that's it. Party's over. Everyone out." Naruto watched impassively as she and a few others started to herd everyone else to the door. Neji carefully walked up to Naruto.

"Naruto, will you let me drive you home?" Naruto shook his head and moved a little across the wall.

"No, I have to find Sasuke."

"Naruto!" Neji called after him, but Naruto was already down the hallway.

* * *

_Present…_

Beside him, he heard a soft whimper. Naruto briefly flicked his eyes to the passenger seat where Sasuke was sitting. They had changed spots at the last rest stop and Sasuke had wasted no time in leaning his head against the window and falling asleep. A quick glance to the rear-view mirror showed that Kiba and Sakura were asleep as well. That left Naruto alone with his thoughts.

He had told Sakura that it wasn't the same with him and Sasuke as it was with her and Kiba, but he was beginning to doubt himself. He knew he still loved Sasuke, as much as it hurt to admit it. And Sakura was so sure that Sasuke loved him. Was that enough, then? Would that be enough to forget the pain of the past? Naruto wasn't sure. He wished it was.

"Naruto," Sasuke moaned in his sleep. "Please…sorry. So sorry." Naruto looked back at Sasuke. He was still asleep, but his head had rolled at some point to rest back on the head rest and he had curled up slightly in his seat. It made him look vulnerable, which made Naruto feel uneasy. Sasuke was never vulnerable. Growing up, Sasuke had been the rock that Naruto could depend on. He carefully reached out and smoothed the lines between Sasuke's brows. Sasuke's eyes clinched tightly once before they started to flutter open. Naruto yanked his hand back and turned resolutely to face the road.

"Where are we?" Sasuke mumbled as he stretched out his back. Naruto flicked his eyes to the GPS.

"Mississippi." He heard Sasuke shift as he leaned forward to check the GPS himself.

"We're making good time." He leaned forward to look at Naruto's face. "You must have been going pretty fast." Naruto grinned at him.

"No, you've just been out for a while." Sasuke checked his watch before he leaned back in his seat.

"Want me to take over for a while?" Naruto shrugged.

"We'll need to stop soon for gas anyway." Sasuke hummed and leaned forward to fidget with the GPS.

"There'll be a rest stop with a gas station in about two miles," he reported. Naruto nodded absently before his mouth opened to speak.

"Do you really not remember any of it?" Next to him, Sasuke froze. Naruto's mind always did jump around, changing topics so fast that sometimes, Sasuke had trouble following his train of thought. But Sasuke knew exactly what Naruto was asking him.

"No. Not any of it." Naruto wrinkled his nose.

"How is that even possible?" Sasuke carefully leaned forward and replaced the GPS on the dashboard.

"I don't know. The last thing I remember is sitting on the couch, you following Sakura to help her in the kitchen, and then the next I was waking up to you screaming. I don't remember anything in between."

Naruto was doubtful, but he decided to play along for the time being. "That's really weird, Sasuke." Sasuke winced, and Naruto knew that Sasuke didn't think he believed him.

"I agree. Very weird and very upsetting. I wish I could give you more answers." Naruto hummed and went back to driving in silence. A few minutes passed before Sasuke spoke again. "I never would cheat on you willingly." Naruto scoffed and shot Sasuke a glance.

"Are you saying that it was against your will, then?"

"Yes," Sasuke shot back without hesitating. Naruto frowned and didn't reply. He hadn't considered that anyone could force Sasuke to do something against his will. He mentally grinned to himself and checked his rear-view mirror again. But Sakura had forced Sasuke to drive her out to Vegas and back, so he figured it was possible. "Pull over here." Naruto nodded and turned on his turn signal.

He found the gas station and pulled up. Sasuke got out and went around the car to fill it up. Naruto got out too and stretched his back. "Should we wake them?" He motioned to the passengers in the back. Sasuke grinned and shook his head.

"No. Let them sleep. They won't have much of a chance when we get back." Naruto nodded and leaned back against the car. Sasuke leaned back against the pump and observed Naruto while he waited for his tank to fill. "I still love you. I never stopped."

Naruto paused in popping his back to stare at Sasuke. "That was never the problem." Sasuke pursed his lips and looked away.

"I know." Naruto moved to get in on the passenger side. He waited for Sasuke to finish pumping the gas and slip into the driver's side.

"I wish I had let you convince me to stay home that night." Sasuke looked over at him and gave him a sad little smile that Naruto was quick to return. He only had three more days and then he could leave this all behind him.

Though he was beginning to think that that wasn't such a good thing.


	7. Chapter 7: Friday

Chapter 7: Friday

_Present…_

They had made it back just in time for the little greet-and-meet before the actual rehearsal. Sakura had planned on serving little cheeses on toothpicks and wine for the bridal party and family before the actual rehearsal on the patio over looking the lake next to which she would be married. The moment Sasuke had pulled into the lodge and before Naruto could properly pop his ears, Sakura's mother had been there, ushering the bride-to-be out of the car and over to greet her guests. Kiba had shrugged, thanked them both for appeasing Sakura's whims, and followed the two women to meet Sakura's third cousin that Sakura insisted should sing at the wedding. Naruto had watched them go, smiling to himself when he saw how awkward Kiba was, before movement at the corner of his eye reminded him that he was still in Sasuke's car. Sasuke had given him that sad little grin before he too got out of the car to stretch his legs. Nartuo had scowled and had thought to himself that it all was terribly anticlimactic.

So that led him here, standing on the patio and sipping wine with some friend of Sakura's from college, listening to her complain about how hot it was. Naruto rolled his eyes and looked across the patio. Sasuke was sitting in the corner, sipping on a glass of water. But what made him chuckle was the wide berth the rest of the bridal party was giving him. So, Naruto excused himself, switched out his wine glass for a water glass, and moved within Sasuke's circle of isolation.

"Some things never change, do they?" Sasuke glanced up from where he was fidgeting with his glass to lean back and grin up at Naruto.

"I've never been social." Naruto snorted and sat down next to him.

"Or tried." Sasuke smiled at him and took another sip of his water. Naruto grinned back and turned back to look at the crowded patio. He nearly laughed as he saw Sakura's dad and Kiba sitting uncomfortably next to each other, avoiding eye contact. Naruto motioned to them. "What do you think?" Sasuke shrugged.

"Who the Hell knows. Do they even like each other?" Naruto beamed at him.

"Yup. Sakura told me in Vegas that she loved Kiba; that that was why she was postponing the wedding, since they had such a rocky start. She wanted to do it right.." Sasuke turned to glare at him.

"Is that why she dragged us all back here?" Naruto shrugged before he laughed. "So I have you to blame. I don't think my poor car survived that last leg." Naruto only laughed harder, causing Sasuke's scowl to soften.

"They claim to love each other, so I'm satisfied they'll do well." Sasuke looked away from him to turn his glass in its pool condensation.

"All you need is love, right?" Naruto fidgeted in his seat before he turned to watch Sakura talk to one of her Bride's Maids. He considered what he should say. Should he say that trust is needed as well? Loyalty? His answer took too long in coming, and he heard Sasuke sigh and move to push his chair out.

"Generally, that's the idea." Naruto's eyes were still adverted, so he jumped slightly when he felt Sasuke take his hands in his own.

"Then why can't we work this out? I still love…"

"It's been ten years, Sasuke," Naruto interrupted. He always got uncomfortable when Sasuke said that he still loved him. "We've both grown, changed. I'm not the same as I was ten years ago. You can't say if you love me now or not." Despite his words, though, Naruto didn't take his hands away.

Sasuke sat, quiet for a moment, before he replied. "Then, can't I have changed too? Wouldn't it be unfair to punish me for the sins of another person?" Naruto was silent, but this time, he was considering the possibilities. Sasuke took this as encouragement and shifted closer to him. "Can't we start over? Completely, like we met for the first time at this wedding."

Naruto smirked. "That sounds nice." Sasuke smiled at him and shifted even closer.

"It does, doesn't it?" He sounded so optimistic. Naruto rolled the thought around in his head. He'd be lying to himself if he denied that he had thought about Sasuke every day. It was tempting to start over. So, so tempting.

Naruto turned to grin and answer Sasuke when a squeal from the entrance caught his attention. He froze immediately, an overwhelming panic washing over him. He worked hard to control his breathing and focused his attention back on his hands, still held in Sasuke's grip.

"Naruto?" Sasuke's concerned voice asked. From the corner of his eye, he saw Sasuke glance at him before looking around the patio for the source of Naruto's behavior. Naruto knew the moment he saw her. Sasuke sucked in a sharp breath and went completely stiff, his hands gripping even harder at Naruto's as if he was scared that Naruto would bolt any moment.

"Well, everyone," Sakura's mother said over the low thrum of conversation, "the Maid of Honor has finally made it, so we can start the rehearsal." Everyone moved to head down to the lake, ready to start the practice run, but Naruto could only watch as Sakura hugged her Maid of Honor.

"Ino! I'm so glad you finally made it!"

* * *

_Ten years ago…_

Naruto had looked everywhere. The bathroom, the basement, the living room, the kitchen. Every once in a while, he would check outside to see Sasuke's car still parked in front of the house. Finally, he headed upstairs to the bedrooms. He walked quickly past the room where he heard Sakura and Kiba going at it and quickly checked the other rooms. He wasn't prepared to find Sasuke; he almost missed him. He opened the door, glanced in, and had started to close it again before his brain caught up to him.

He didn't know how long he stood there, gasping for breath in the doorway. Sasuke was laying there, sheets twisted around his legs, chest bare and sound asleep. A thin pale arm was slung across his chest, long blond hair splayed around both bed occupants. There was a physical pain in his chest, and he felt like throwing up. Then came the anger, quick and sudden. The side of his fisted hand slammed into the wall next to him. He vaguely heard a crack, but it could have been his own heart breaking.

Both Ino and Sasuke jumped up in the bed. "You fucking bastard! How could you?" Sasuke swam in front of Naruto's eyes, coming in and out of focus. He wiped angrily at his tears.

Sasuke had the nerve to look confused. He lethargically pushed himself up in the bed. Naruto gagged slightly when he saw the sheets pool around Sasuke's naked waist. "Naruto? What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?" Naruto nearly shrieked. "What's wrong?" Naruto couldn't believe Sasuke could ask him that. "You cheated! How could you?" Naruto couldn't stomach to see realization dawn on Sasuke's face that he'd been caught, and he couldn't stand to see Ino's guilty expression. And, he was concerned he might hit one or both of them. He turned and stormed out of the room. He heard a thump behind him.

"Naruto, wait! I didn't…I didn't…this can't be…Naruto wait!" Naruto felt Sasuke grab his arm and spin him to face him. He had hastily pulled his pants on, but hadn't bothered to zip them.

"Let go of me!" Naruto jerked his arm away and pushed hard on Sasuke's chest. The action caused Sasuke to sit hard on the step. "Don't you ever touch me again. I don't ever want to see you again. Don't come near me." Sasuke's confused face looked back at him, and his eyes were still a little cloudy. He looked as if he was about ready to fall over. Naruto turned and stormed down the steps. Neji was still standing there, looking at the scene sadly. "Neji take me home."

"No, Naruto. You can't go home." Naruto rounded on Sasuke.

"You can't tell me what to do." Sasuke shook his head and moved forward to take a hold of Naruto again. Naruto took a step back and glared hard at him.

"No. Naruto, you _can't_ go home. Wait, let me find Kiba. You can stay with him." Naruto laughed bitterly. No, he couldn't stay with Kiba. He had no where to go. He turned back to Neji.

"Neji take me home." Neji nodded.

"Of course." Neji pushed lightly at Naruto's back and helped him outside to his car. He opened the passenger door and let Naruto settle himself inside before slamming it shut. It was hot, and the window was rolled down, so Naruto heard Sasuke pleading with Neji.

"Neji, please…" Sasuke asked.

"Perhaps it is best if you and Naruto spent some time apart. I think emotions are a little raw tonight."

Silence, then "He can't go home. Can he stay with you tonight?"

"I will take him wherever he wants me to take him. Good night." Neji walked around and got into the driver's seat. Naruto stubbornly refused to look at Sasuke outside his window. But as they drove away, Naruto glanced in the side mirror to see Sasuke sinking to his knees, head bowed in defeat.

* * *

_Present…_

This was unbearably cruel. Sasuke had tried to talk to him, but he pulled his arm away and joined the rest of the bridal party. He could feel Sasuke's heavy gaze on his back and could see Ino's quick side glances. Kiba had barely looked away from his face, just long enough to follow the minister's directions. Sakura could have at least warned him.

"Hey, Naruto." Naruto broke his staring contest with Ino to look at Kiba. "This is where you hand me the ring." Naruto nodded and mock handed Kiba the ring before he settled on staring at his shoes.

"And now," the minister said with a flourish, "the newly weds will proceed down the isle, arm in arm. The bridal party will join, Bride's Maid with Groom's Man, and follow out." Naruto winced. He had been dreading this part, when he and Ino would walk down the isle together. How the Hell was he supposed to smile when she was touching him? He scowled at his feet. The minister cleared his throat and Naruto looked up to see that Sakura and Kiba had already left and Ino had moved forward and offered her arm to him. For one, brief, horrible moment, Naruto was stuck in between Ino and Sasuke. He moved forward and linked arms with Ino, if nothing else but to get out from in between them.

As they started to walk down the isle, Ino leaned over to whisper to him. "Hey, look, I think we need to talk."

"I can't imagine that we would have anything to talk about." Ino's grip tightened on his arm.

"But we do, Naruto. You don't understand…"

"Perhaps I should have phrased that better. I don't want to talk to you." Ino sighed.

"I know that you hate me, and I don't blame you, but I think that there's something you should know about that night."

"No." Naruto rolled his eyes at Ino's shocked face at his abrupt refusal. Had she thought that he would actually listen to her?

"But, Naruto…"

"No. Listen, if we're going to get through this wedding, you're going to need to not talk to me, not look at me, and touch me as little as possible. Okay?"

"But…"

"Naruto!" Naruto looked up in relief at Sakura. She looked almost panicked. Probably because she realized that she forgot to tell him about Ino. Serves her right. Sakura leaned forward and grabbed his arm and pulled him away from Ino. "Let's go. We should talk."

"Yea, sure." He let himself be dragged away by her. At the door to the lodge, he glanced back at the lake. Ino was talking to Sasuke, touching his arm, and walking away with him. In his mind, he heard that dull crack from ten years ago.

* * *

"Sakura, you realize, of course, that we're in a girl's bathroom. Now, it makes sense that you'd be in here. But I'm still wondering what I'm doing in here."

"I should have told you." Naruto laughed bitterly.

"That Ino was going to be here? Yea, that would have been nice." To Naruto's surprise, Sakura shook her head.

"No, I owe you an explanation." She was chewing her lip, and Naruto started to feel an uneasy feeling of dread in his stomach.

"About?" Sakura paced in front of the sinks before she answered.

"In High School, I was so in love with you. I just _wanted _you. But you were always with Sasuke, and you were always so beat up, we all thought that he was the one hurting you."

"It wasn't Sasuke." Sakura was quick to agree.

"No, I know that now. But you were always so loyal to him, and I was a stupid, jealous girl."

"Sakura," Naruto said slowly, "what did you do?"

She chewed her lip and finally stopped pacing to look at Nartuo. "I put sleeping pills in Sasuke's beer." Naruto's mind made a horrible screeching sound. The implications of what Sakura had just said were severe, and Naruto was having difficulty following them. Instead, he stood there, mouth open, and listening to Sakura's confession. "I watched him all night, waiting for them to take effect. When I saw him starting to loose consciousness, I asked you to come into the kitchen with me. Ino told him that he looked tired and should lie down for a bit before driving you home. Sasuke, of course, agreed. She said he blacked out before she could even get him into the room. Then, she made it look like they'd slept together."

Naruto's mind was finally starting to work again. "You…" Sakura moved forward to touch his arm, but he jerked back. "You…what are you saying?" Sakura swallowed hard.

"Sasuke never cheated. It was a set-up. I was trying to get you two broken up. I thought I'd stand a chance with you then."

"But I told you that I couldn't be with you, even if I wasn't with Sasuke."

"I know, I know. But everything had already been done." Tears were streaming down Sakura's face, but Naruto didn't think she felt nearly as bad as he did.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Everything was her fault; Sasuke had never cheated. "Ten years, Sakura. Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"I wanted to!" Sakura said a little hysterically. "But, then I had my own problems. And then, it just got harder to tell you the more time that went by." Naruto leaned back against the door.

"You weren't planning on ever telling me, were you? Ino said she wanted to talk to me, though. She was going to tell me." Sakura nodded.

"She saw you and Sasuke and realized what a horrible thing we did. She was going to tell you both, and I wanted to tell you. I think I owe you that much."

"Sasuke…you didn't know that Sasuke was going to be here?" Things were beginning to fit together in Naruto's mind. All the pieces of the puzzle were coming together. "That's why we went to Vegas. You were afraid of Ino telling us."

Sakura nodded. "But only at first! By the time we got to Vegas, and I saw how much you both still loved each other, and I started to hope that you would get back together. Everything would solve itself then, and I could pretend these past ten years never happened."

"Never happened?" Realization was finally beginning to sink in and Naruto's voice was coming out as a hoarse yell. He didn't know what to say, or how to even feel. He turned and banged out of the bathroom. Sakura was fast on his heels.

"But after talking to you I knew I had to tell you, explain what happened." Naruto kept walking. Sakura reached out and grabbed his arm. "Naruto, please. Let me fix this!"

"You can't fix it Sakura!" He was screaming now, and he was fairly sure everyone by the lake could hear him, but he didn't care. He couldn't have kept his voice down if he tried. "You ruined everything!" He had to get away from her. Naruto turned to leave, but as he turned the corner, he saw Ino and Sasuke at the end of a hallway. Ino was looking back at him, eyes full of remorse, and Sasuke was staring straight ahead at the wall, fists clenched hard and shaking. Seeing Sasuke now, after knowing what happened that night, was his undoing. As Ino took a step towards him, hand outstretched, Naruto fled back to his room. He slammed into his room and locked it. Outside, he could hear Sakura crying banging on his door and begging him to come out, to talk to her, to please please understand. He couldn't. He covered his ears with his fists and looked around the room for a place to get away from her voice. Finally he moved into his bathroom, shutting the door. He sat on the sink and finally allowed himself to cry.

Ten years, completely wasted. Ten years of waking up in the morning and trying to find some reason to get out of bed. Ten years of wondering how it would have been had Sasuke still been by his side. It was too much. He was so tired, wanted to sleep and never wake up. Lethargically, he stood and tripped on his way to the tub. He pulled the curtain and laid down, the empty basin echoing back his sobs.


	8. Chapter 8: Saturday

**So, aliens from Pluto visited Earth and decided to take back a piece of technology, which, unfortunately, ended up being my poor laptop. So, I had to build a rocket and follow them back to Pluto. But, I got slightly distracted when they made me their Queen- something about how the rest of the population only came up to my knees. Pluto's the smallest planet, after all, despite what those silly scientists say. Anyway, I finally remembered I had to come home when Other called me and said I needed to come home to feed the dog. I know, right? I didn't think my cell phone would have that good of reception!**

**In any case, thank you so much for the wonderful feedback and your patience with me as life gets in the way. Hope you enjoy this chapter! This is the second to last chapter, so it won't be much longer now. ****

* * *

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**Chapter Eight: Saturday**

_Present…_

Naruto didn't know how long he laid there. Sakura had given up some time ago and Naruto hadn't heard any sounds outside for some time. That's probably why when he heard a soft rap, so different from Sakura's hysterical pounding, on the door to his room, it made him startle. He considered if he should check to see who it was, but then he reminded himself that his life was over and he rolled away from the door, knocking his knee on the side of the tub in the process.

A few minutes later, he heard the sound of a key being inserted in the door and the tell-tale click of his door being unlocked. There was a long pause where Naruto hoped that he misheard, but then his bathroom door was being opened too. There was a light screech as the curtain was pulled back, and then a deep voice that nearly sent Naruto into sobs again.

"There you are." Naruto didn't know whether to be terrified or overjoyed as Sasuke climbed into the tub with him and curled around his back, arm wrapping firmly around his waist like it hadn't left for the past ten years and had no intention of leaving again.

They laid like that for what seemed like forever before Naruto gathered enough courage to ask, "How'd you get in here?" Sasuke had the nerve to chuckle.

"The kind cleaning lady let me in. She was rather obliging after I explained the…situation." Naruto wrinkled his nose.

"You seem to be taking this rather well." And then as an after thought, "Jerk." Sasuke sighed and buried his nose in Naruto's hair.

"I'm not. I punched a hole through a wall earlier, if it makes you feel any better. But I figured I couldn't help you any if I was going off in a rage."

Naruto had the insane urge to smile. Instead, he reached down and laced his fingers with Sasuke's. "I'm sorry."

"You did nothing wrong," was Sasuke's quick reply. Naruto felt himself choke.

"But, you were right! I should have believed you." Naruto felt Sasuke shaking his head.

"No, you did everything right. None of this is your fault."

"But it's not your fault either," Naruto returned. He felt Sasuke push himself up on an elbow and then Sasuke's face came into his sight.

"If you were one of your patients, what would you tell yourself?" Naruto sighed and looked away. When children first came to him, they would usually blame themselves for their guardian's bad behavior. That was the hardest thing to teach them- how to correctly assign the blame. He glanced back at Sasuke and knew the jerk _knew_ what he was thinking, just like he always did. Sasuke smirked at him and lay back down.

"Jerk," Naruto added, just in case. Sasuke chuckled again. They lapsed back into silence, but Naruto was so enjoying the heavy presence of Sasuke all around him. Finally, he decided that he had to tell Sasuke. "I was going to say 'yes'."

"Hm?" Naruto felt Sasuke's eyelashes blink on the back of his neck. He grinned, despite everything.

"Before Ino came in. I was going to say 'yes'." Sasuke sighed heavily.

"Has that chan…"

"No."

"…ged? Good. I'm glad." Naruto dragged their locked fingers up to rest under his chin and Sasuke's arm tightened around him. "What do you want to do now?"

Naruto winced. He knew what Sasuke was asking. It took a lot of effort, but he finally was able to roll over onto his back, knocking his knees on the side and his ankles on the faucet. This tub was definitely too small for the both of them. He draped his legs over Sasuke's bent knees and looked up into his face. "I don't know."

Sasuke considered him. "No one would blame you if you left. Hell Naruto, if you want to stand in front of all her wedding guests and tell them what a manipulative, self absorbed, little…"

"Sasuke!" Naruto laughed.

"…spoiled brat Sakura is, I'll stand up there with you. And no one would think any less of you." Sasuke leaned down and kissed Naruto's forehead. "But whatever you want to do, I'll stand by you." Naruto gave him a sad little grin.

"Do you think Kiba knew?" Sasuke sighed and rested his head on Naruto's shoulder.

"No, he didn't. He always suspected that she had something to do with it. I think that's why he didn't tell her that I was going to be here." Naruto wrinkled his brow and craned his neck to look at Sasuke. Sasuke shrugged. "I wanted to make sure I had all the information before I came to see you."

Naruto rolled his eyes and scoffed. "Then I suppose I should stay. I came here to be Kiba's Best Man, and it's not fair to punish Kiba because Sakura's crazy." Sasuke snorted.

"You are clinically nice." Naruto went to reply, but his stomach interrupted him with a loud growl. Sasuke laughed. "Well, I think we missed the rehearsal dinner. But, I'm sure there's someplace open. In fact," Sasuke said, teasingly, as he helped Naruto stand, "I'm pretty sure I saw a 24-hour ramen stand not too far away." Naruto's grin split his face.

"You're on."

* * *

_Ten years ago…_

Naruto was told that Sasuke had called him no less than twenty times that morning. But, even if Naruto had wanted to answer the phone, and he so desperately wanted to hear Sasuke's voice despite the physical pain still in chest, he wouldn't have been able to. Being in the hospital tended to prevent him from getting his messages.

He didn't remember much after finding Sasuke with Ino. He remembered coming home, finding his foster father dead drunk, and lots and lots of pain. In the end, he had wound up in the bathroom desperately trying to tie a towel around his leg to keep the bone inside, to little success. He had just begun to think he might need to go to the hospital when the bathroom door had been smacked open. Naruto had jumped, and may have screamed slightly, but it was Mr. Uchiha, standing there with a dark scowl on his face, which belied the gentleness with which he picked Naruto up to carry him out to the ambulance.

Hours later, his bones were set and the swelling had begun to go down. And it was breakfast time, if this crap they gave him could be considered "breakfast." He was pushing around what he had deemed scrambled eggs when a dark figure appeared in his doorway. His breath caught for a moment before he realized that it was the father. "Sasuke told you." It could have been an accusation, but just as easily could be a thank-you.

"Yes. He was concerned for your wellbeing and asked me to check on you." Naruto didn't know how to reply to that, so shrugged instead. Mr. Uchiha sighed and sat down in the chair next to the bed. "Your foster father has been taken to jail, and we can't find your foster mother."

"She's at her sister's." Mr. Uchiha eyed him carefully before he continued.

"Well, CPS doesn't feel comfortable putting you back in that home regardless. But since you're almost eighteen, they're willing to let you stay with a friend. You would be welcome to stay with us, of course."

Naruto shuddered. He wanted to, but he didn't think he'd be able to stomach seeing Sasuke so soon. "We broke up." Mr. Uchiha sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.

"Yes, I heard about that. So I called a friend of mine. He's a psychiatrist, and I think you'll like him." Naruto wrinkled his nose.

"You think I need a psychiatrist?"

"No," he was quick to say. "But I do think that you need someone willing to listen, should you feel like talking. And I feel confident leaving you with Iruka."

Naruto finally braved a bite of the questionable eggs. He chewed and swallowed before deciding to reply. "Iruka?"

"He'll swing by later to introduce himself." Naruto nodded and took a sip of his juice. Mr. Uchiha must have taken that as his cue. He stood up and turned to leave. "Well, even if you and Sasuke aren't together anymore, if you need anything, I'll be available."

Naruto nodded and went back to pushing his breakfast around his tray. A few hours later a brown-haired man with a warm smile entered his room.

"Hello Naruto. My name is Iruka. Would you like to come home with me?" Naruto kept eye contact with Iruka, measuring him, before breathing out a heavy sigh and nodding his head.

Years later, Naruto could mark that moment as a turning point in his life.

* * *

_Present…_

"I don't know how I could ever thank you, Naruto. This means so much to me." Naruto shrugged and straightened Kiba's tie.

"I'm the Best Man, Kiba. I couldn't abandon you." Kiba undid Naruto's work by wringing his tie.

"Yea, but Sakura…"

"You can't help it that your future wife's a nutcase," Naruto said. He called up on all his training to keep his voice light and neutral. Behind him, he could hear Sasuke snort. He didn't bother to fight his grin as he reached forward to pry Kiba's tie from his grip.

"Well, but, should I postpone the wedding? The timing's bad, isn't it?" Naruto sighed and moved to put in Kiba's cufflinks.

"No, this wedding's been postponed enough as is. However," Naruto said seriously, and shooting a glance over his shoulder at Sasuke to make sure he knew he was included in this conversation, "after you get back from your honeymoon, all of us are going to sit down and have a long, long, _long_ conversation about what happened. Okay?"

"Yea, of course!" Kiba said. There was silence behind him and Naruto turned back to scowl at Sasuke. Sasuke shrugged.

"Yea, whatever," he said finally, and went back to buttoning his jacket. Naruto rolled his eyes, but he saw the pleased little grin on Sasuke's face as he turned back to face Kiba.

"Well, ready?" Naruto laughed long and hard at Kiba's panicked expression.

* * *

"This went so much faster during rehearsal," Sasuke whispered. Naruto fought a grin and shushed him. The cousin was still singing, poorly. Naruto sighed as his eye was caught by Ino, smiling at him from across the isle. Naruto wrinkled his nose and looked away. He wasn't quite ready to play nice with Ino yet.

"Yea, you're right. This is borderline painful," Naruto whispered back over his shoulder.

"We could still storm out of here." Sasuke sounded hopeful. Naruto smirked and shifted slightly so he could brush his hand across Sasuke's.

"Nah. The caterer's amazing, and I'm so looking forward to dinner." Sasuke scoffed.

"Okay then. We storm out of here, hit the kitchen, steal what we can carry and then run like Hell."

Naruto strangled back a laugh. "Tempting, tempting."

"I now pronounce you man and wife." Cheers and claps erupted as Kiba and Sakura turned to face their guests. Naruto groaned and moved forward to take Ino's arm. Sasuke's arm on his elbow paused him.

"I'll see you at the end?" Naruto smiled endearingly back at Sasuke.

"Of course."


	9. Chapter 9: Sunday

**Final chapter! Yay! It's been so fun writing this little ditty. Thank you for the wonderful feedback. I greatly appreciate all the reviews and encouragement. **

**I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. **

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**Chapter Nine: Sunday**

_Present…_

Naruto grinned to himself. Surely, this place was Heaven. He carefully balanced his three plates, one containing nothing but a heap of bacon, and his glass of juice and moved to the closest table. The wedding party had gotten up at some un-Godly hour to see the newly weds off to the airport. And then, much to Naruto's eternal joy, he had discovered that the lodge provided a complimentary breakfast to all the guests. He had missed it, due to being away and then all Hell breaking loose, but now he was making up for lost time. He had lost count how many times he went back for "seconds."

He very nearly choked on his toast as he felt an arm wrap around his waist from the side and a face bury itself in his neck. Sasuke had, at some point apparently, sat down next to him. For a brief moment, Naruto almost pulled away. After so long of hating the man, that would be a hard habit to break. But he caught himself in time and instead tilted his head to kiss Sasuke's temple.

"They have food!" Naruto sang, waving his toast around. He felt Sasuke smile into his neck.

"I can't. I have to go. I came in to say good-bye." Naruto frowned.

"Go? Go where?" Sasuke drew in a long breath before he lifted his head so he could see Naruto.

"There was a robbery at a high-end jewelry store. They got almost a million dollars worth of diamonds and shot the security guard." Naruto felt like he had been shot. He had almost forgotten that Sasuke was a police detective. This was the type of thing that he had to deal with on a daily basis. Naruto swallowed his toast and took a sip of juice before he replied.

"Is he okay?" Sasuke shook his head sadly.

"No. He died on the way to the hospital." Naruto frowned and looked away so he could fidget with Sasuke's fingers.

"You'll find them, right?" Sasuke nodded, sure of himself.

"Yes, of course." He grinned back at Naruto, finally. "I'm very good at what I do." Naruto hummed before he narrowed his eyes at him.

"And you'll remember to wear your bullet-proof vest?" Sasuke's grin widened.

"Yes, of course." Naruto jerked his head in a nod before he flicked his wrist in a dismissal.

"Okay then. You can go." Naruto reached forward and took the top-most piece of bacon off of the mountain and crunched on it happily. It took him a few minutes to realize he still had an audience, grinning at him stupidly. "What?"

Sasuke shook his head slightly. "I'm almost afraid to leave this place. Like, this has all been a dream and once I leave, everything will go back to the way it was before."

Naruto's heart broke. What had he done to this man? He carefully re-balanced his bacon and wiped his fingers before running his tongue over his teeth and turning to face Sasuke. He stared at him, rememorizing his face before he leaned forward and kissed him hard. Sasuke moaned a little before he reached up to cradle the side of Naruto's head, running his fingers through his hair slightly. Naruto grinned into the kiss before he pulled away slightly and pecked Sasuke's lips once, twice before sitting back in his chair. He tried very hard to keep a straight face at the sight of Sasuke's pout, but he managed, and he reached forward to run his hands over Sasuke's shoulders, pretending to straighten wrinkles in his pristine shirt.

"You can call me, after you've caught your bad guys, and we'll pick up where we left off." Sasuke's pout eased up.

"You taste like bacon," Sasuke teased. Naruto wrinkled his nose.

"Better that than tasting like cigarette smoke." Naruto made a face so Sasuke could get the hint. He did. He winced and stood up.

"Yea, yea, I hear you." He kissed the top of Naruto's head, and then he was gone. Naruto waited for the screen door to bang shut before he retrieved his piece of bacon. He paused with it half-way to his mouth when his eyes caught a smiling Ino two tables over. Her smile widened when she saw she had his attention, and she inclined her head slightly in his direction. Naruto was in far too good a mood to glare at her, but he wasn't quite ready to make nice with her, so he settled for sticking out his tongue. She seemed amused by this, but she stood and left the room anyway.

With that settled, Naruto went back to crunching on his bacon and thinking about Sasuke. Perhaps, he would call Sasuke when he got back. Or, he grinned, he would happen to swing by the police station one day over his lunch break. It was only two miles from his own office. He was happily munching away, making plans to surprise Sasuke, when the screen door made a horrible bang as it was slammed open. Naruto jumped, whacking his knee on the underside of the table. He turned to look at who had blown the door off its hinges.

His jaw dropped. It was Sasuke! He started to tease him, but then took a second look at the expression on his face. Sasuke was livid about something. Naruto stood to meet him half-way, a question already on his lips, but Sasuke interrupted any question that Naruto could have asked.

"Tell me Sakura's number." Naruto's jaw clicked shut.

"Huh?"

"Her number. I wish to speak to her. Now." Naruto turned his head slightly to the side, keeping his eyes on Sasuke. It was an odd request, even for Sasuke. He wondered what Sakura did now to set him off.

"She might already be on the plane."

"She's not. Her flight doesn't leave for another ten minutes."

Naruto weighed his options before pulling his cell phone out of his pocket. Between Sasuke and Sakura, he'd choose Sasuke every time. And Sakura had what was coming to her anyway. He rattled off her numbers and watched as Sasuke dialed them into his own phone. There was a pause as the phone rang on the other end, and Naruto took the lull to wrap his arms around Sasuke's waist and leaned his head against his shoulder. Finally, Sakura apparently answered on the other line. Sasuke blew up.

"Sakura, you bitch, you owe me a new car!" A new car? Naruto frowned. But Sasuke loved his car. Why would he request a new car? Sakura apparently asked the same thing. "Why? Because, you spoiled little brat, your fucking useless little road trip killed my car. The engine won't even turn over."

Naruto snorted, he clenched his teeth, he bit his lip, but nothing he did could stop the laughing. He doubled over, clenching his sides as the hysterics rolled off of him. If he had been paying attention, he would have seen Sasuke's expression soften as he watched Naruto try and control himself. Finally, Naruto composed himself and Sasuke finalized the agreement with Sakura before clicking his phone shut. Sasuke sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. Naruto grinned and leaned forward to kiss his cheek.

"Let me finish breakfast and then you can come help me pack." He shrugged and moved back to the table. "I guess the least I could do is drive you home."

* * *

_Six Months Later…_

"But what if they don't like me anymore?" Naruto didn't try to hide the whine in his voice. His tone of voice only earned him an eye roll from the man in the driver's seat.

"They loved you ten years ago; they'll still love you now."

"Yea, but…" Sasuke sighed and reached over to lace his fingers with Naruto's.

"Naruto, stop worrying. Mom and Dad are both very excited to see you again." Naruto wasn't sure he bought that, after the entire breaking their son's heart thing, so he winced as he looked back to the house.

It was the day most normal boyfriends dreaded, and Naruto was no exception. He still remembered the first time Sasuke had introduced Naruto as his boyfriend. He had met Sasuke's parents before, of course, but then only as Sasuke's friend. Parents tend to treat friends and boyfriends differently. Sasuke's father had narrowed his eyes and his mother's jaw had dropped, but other than that it had gone over rather well. Now, Naruto wasn't sure what to expect. He was so sure that there'd be another long conversation. It'd be the second he'd have in the past six months.

His conversation with Sakura, Ino, and Kiba went as well as could be expected. Sakura had done a lot of crying, which was sort of like cheating in Naruto's book- he always found it difficult to stay mad at a crying girl. Eventually, it came down to if and when Naruto could forgive her. Eventually, Sasuke had pointed out that Naruto hadn't forgiven him for ten years, and he was innocent, so Sakura shouldn't be forgiven for at least twenty. Naruto didn't know why, but for some reason he found Sasuke's suggestion humorous. He had laughed, felt much better, and told Sakura she was on probation. He was very tired of holding grudges. Furthermore, Kiba was still his best friend, and being at odds with his wife might put a strain on their relationship.

And Sasuke had gotten his new car; Naruto had gone with him to pick it out. Sasuke had been at odds with himself between his vindictive side, wanting to choose the most expensive luxury car he could find, and his more practical side that wanted a reliable car. In the end, he had gotten the newer, big-brother version of his old car- an Altima- in dark blue. Sakura had willingly paid for the car, no questions asked.

There was a sigh and a shifting in the seat next to him. "Are you ready? We're late." Naruto looked at the dashboard clock and scoffed. It was only a minute passed the time they had said they'd be there. Sasuke had a thing about punctuality. Naruto huffed and moved to get out of the car, growling at the chuckle behind him.

In the end, Naruto's fretting had been for naught. Sasuke's mother had squealed in delight and just about strangled Naruto in a hug, and his father had about knocked him over when he thumped him on the back. His mother's cooking was not any better, but Naruto still choked it down with a smile, and his father read police files all through dinner. In the end, it was like ten years hadn't even passed and Naruto was grateful for the consistency.

After dinner, they kissed and hugged Sasuke's parents good night and headed back to the car. They drove in silence for a while, both lost in their own thoughts and memories. Finally, Naruto reached over to pat Sasuke's thigh. "Well, that went well." Sasuke flashed him a grin and reached down to take Naruto's hand in his.

"Yes, of course. You had doubts that it wouldn't?" Naruto shrugged and kissed Sasuke's wrist as they slowed to a stop at a stop-light. They listened to the quiet hum of the new car before Naruto turned and pouted at Sasuke. Sasuke frowned back. "What's with the face?"

"I miss your old car's growl. This one's too quiet." Sasuke had the nerve to laugh.

"Well, if you stick around for a few years, this one will eventually growl too." Naruto caught the unasked question and he tightened his grip on Sasuke's hand.

"Well, I suppose I can wait for a little while then." Naruto didn't miss the slight twitching of Sasuke's lips or the returned pressure on his fingers as the car accelerated. "But I guess this car doesn't have the fond memories the other one had either."

Sasuke hummed. "Well, if you stick around for a few years, this one will eventually have its own memories too." Naruto laughed and kissed Sasuke's wrist again as they turned into the parking lot of his apartment complex. Sasuke grinned at him and opened the car door to get out, but Naruto pulled on his wrist to pull him back in the car. He leaned across the seats to kiss Sasuke's neck.

"Why wait?" Naruto asked. Sasuke groaned in the back of his throat and turned a confused frown back at Naruto. "Let's make some new memories now." The sound of a car door closing and laughs echoed through the parking lot.


End file.
